POS System

Wednesday, February 18, 2015

A female student of the Sabaragamuwa
University committed suicide by hanging at her home in Mabulgoda, Kottawa. The
student in a suicide note has cited her inability to cope with inhuman ragging
at the hands of seniors as the reason for her decision to end her life.

The deceased student, 24 year old S.Hewage
Amali Chathurika studying in the Faculty of Applied Sciences has stressed that
no university student should attend her funeral.

"My daughter was past student of Devi
Balika Maha Vidyalaya, Colombo, Chathurika and gained admission to the
Sabaragamuwa University on March 23, 2013," her grieving Mother Wasantha
Elvitigala said. Chathurika's mother says her daughter was subjected to severe
ragging and as a result had suffered a mental breakdown for which the family
had even consulted a psychiatrist.

According to the mother,Chathurika had
consulted a phychiatrist who had advised long term intervention for the
illness. However, Mrs. Elvitigala says her daughter had been continuously
harrassed by senior students even after she had returned to the university.

Chathurika's mother said her daughter had
attempted suicide on a previous occasion by taking a drug overdose and was
scared to attend the university.

Mrs.Elvitigala who is working at a private
hospital had gone for work as usual on that fateful day. However,as her
repeated calls had not been answered by the daughter, she (Mrs.Elvitigala) had
then called her brothers wife living nearby and told her to go to her home and
tell her daughter to answer the phone.

However, a few minutes later Mrs.Elvitigala
had got the dreaded phone call from her sister-in-law asking her to return home
immediately as there was some trouble at home.

According to the mother, her daughter has
also requested in her note that any property that she owns be donated it to the
Maharagama Cancer Hospital.

The doctor who performed the postmortem on
the university student has confirmed that the victim committed suicide by
hanging herself. Police are conducting further investigations.